General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Should all jobs be union jobs? [View all]King_Klonopin
(1,382 posts)who support labor and labor unions. To most progressives, this
is a good thing. Higher min. wage, health care, OSHA and all
that stuff.
Back in the 90's, McLean Hospital (one of the nation's prestige
psychiatric hospitals) spent over $5 million to defeat the nurses'
attempts to organize a union. One of the common arguments
against unionization was "Why should I have to pay $400 a year
for dues and be forced to join a union?" The effort to organize
was defeated. Nurses voted against their own interest. Today,
they have the LOWEST pay scale (and bad working conditions)
of any hospital in the Boston area.
The job I have now pays me $10/hr more than my prior non-
union job. That works out to $16,000/year. Plus I have more
job security and a voice in the process. I pay $880/yr in dues.
Seems pretty advantageous to me. Paying agency fees means
that you are still a member of the union -- you just can't
cast a vote. And you benefit in the end. Otherwise, why would
you or anyone else do it?